No Others

"Shakespeare was wrong. The world is not a stage because there's nobody watching. Like most humans today, Shakespeare was a drama queen. The only thing that set him apart was that he saw the rich complexity of people's stories and somehow managed to channel that complexity through his pen. As far as understanding the emotions that drive humans to do what they do, he nailed it. To most people, his body of work is a monumental achievement of human creativity and intelligence. From where I stand, it could only serve as a paperweight on my desk.

Shakespeare glorified the human struggle. He elevated it to such an extent that anyone who experienced his plays came away from them believing that life was more meaningful if they had a complex struggle of their own to play out. If Shakespeare had acknowledged that there was another reason as to why humans struggle so much, his writing career probably wouldn't have gone very far. Who knows, maybe he would have ended up a barber...

Remember: Misery doesn't just love company, it needs it. You would not be able to struggle (well, at least not very easily) if you realized that there was nobody there to complain to about it. If there was nobody there to hear your story, would you still tell it? Struggle makes absolutely no sense if it's just you. If it's just you, then struggling with something becomes impractical, non-productive. If it's just you, struggle is pointless. So how can I say that you are alone when there are obviously other people in the world? On the level of appearance, yes – there are other bodies, other minds. On the underlying level of ultimate reality, there is but one consciousness animating all of these appearances.

You see struggle as necessary because you have entered into this world under the illusion that these appearances should be taken at face value. You have simply accepted what you see as proof that there are 'others' and because of that, you have created and identified with a false self that you believe yourself to be.

Your perception of other humans and of life in general has become one of fear and distrust because you think that you are separate from them. You now have to fend for yourself, put yourself first and survive at all costs. To go beyond your fear of other human beings is only possible when you are able to recognize that they are an embodiment of the One cosmic consciousness that is all there is. When you are able to recognize that the source of the million happenings in life is from one unified intelligence, you can relax a little bit.

Labelling others and the world as an illusion is not what I'm talking about, that just leaves your false sense of self intact and deludes you into believing that an illusory world doesn't include you. You cannot see through the illusion of there being other people without also seeing through the illusion of there being 'you'. Only direct silent awareness can recognize illusion – not the thought-based 'me' that thinks it can claim ownership over that recognition.

Don't settle for superficial beliefs that keep your false self alive and your true self asleep. Demand that the realization of oneness (emptiness), your Buddha nature, becomes your living reality and accept nothing less. Other spiritual seekers will be satisfied with an identity that presents itself as wise and enlightened... you on the other hand will see through that mirage and will continue on your journey with authenticity and a rigorous mantra that says 'I know nothing unless I can verify it through my direct experience of life'."

-- THERE ARE NO OTHERS Accepting The Reality of Your Aloneness By Kyle Hoobin